What does a high number of erythrocytes indicate?
What is a high red blood cell count? A high red blood cell count is a condition called polycythemia vera. If you have this medical condition, it means that your bone marrow is producing too many red blood cells. This can result in thickening of the blood, slow flow of blood, and eventually blood clots.
What causes too much oxygen in red blood cells?
A high hemoglobin count occurs most commonly when your body requires an increased oxygen-carrying capacity, usually because: You smoke. You live at a high altitude and your red blood cell production naturally increases to compensate for the lower oxygen supply there.
Which protein found on the red blood cells has a high affinity for oxygen?
Hemoglobin. About 95 percent of the dry weight of the red blood cell consists of hemoglobin, the substance necessary for oxygen transport. Hemoglobin is a protein; a molecule contains four polypeptide chains (a tetramer), each chain consisting of more than 140 amino acids.
What happens during Erythrocytosis?
Erythrocytosis is a condition in which your body makes too many red blood cells (RBCs), or erythrocytes. RBCs carry oxygen to your organs and tissues. Having too many of these cells can make your blood thicker than normal and lead to blood clots and other complications.
What happens during erythrocytosis?
Is the oxygen carrying substance in a red blood cell?
Hemoglobin is the protein inside red blood cells. It carries oxygen. Red blood cells also remove carbon dioxide from your body, bringing it to the lungs for you to exhale.
What happens to the oxygen in the red as the red blood cells flow into the as the liver?
A protein called haemoglobin in the red blood cells then carries the oxygen around your body. From there it is pumped to your lungs so that you can breathe out the carbon dioxide and breathe in more oxygen.
Is erythrocytosis serious?
Primary erythrocytosis can be a harmless disorder caused by a genetic trait that is passed down in families. If you only have too many red blood cells without having too many white blood cells or platelets, and you don’t have secondary erythrocytosis, this may be why.